Xpeng G6 review: The Chinese are coming — and their EVs are getting serious

Irish Examiner

a day ago

It seems like every other week now we have a new Chinese car brand being launched here, and that the dire predictions for the demise of the heretofore western-dominated auto manufacturing industry are coming ever closer to reality.
Across Europe, what might be termed 'the beast from the East' is not only beginning to find clarity, it already has more than one foot in the door of local markets and is confidently taking the fight to the establishment.
Why, even the relative upstart in the automotive world, Tesla, which itself stomped on the automotive industry's giants over the past few years, has been taking a beating itself and has lost its preeminence in the field of EVs to the Chinese manufacturer BYD.
Throw in entities like MG, Ora, Nio, Chery, Leapmotor, Smart, Polestar, Zeekr, Link and Co, Lotus, Maxus and a few others, and you will realise that this is not just a small wave lapping at the feet of the European auto industry, it's a tsunami.
And when you think that the Chinese already have a respectable toe-hold worldwide thanks to their ownership of Volvo, you begin to get the picture. That BYD has already put Tesla in its rearview mirrors is food for considerable thought.
Of course, it is not as if the Europeans – and the Americans, to an extent – did not see this coming as many companies already have established partnerships with Chinese counterparts or have gone and built manufacturing plants themselves in order to gain a foothold in what is, after all, one of the world's biggest markets.
The latest manufacturer to hit the road here in Ireland is Xpeng and it is interesting to note that the Irish distributorship has been secured by Motor Distributors Ltd., the company founded by Stephen Flaherty and which originally brought Volkswagen to Ireland, inspiring an automotive revolution here which goes back to the post-WWII period.
At various times, MDL distributed cars from all the VW Group companies – VW, Audi, SEAT and Skoda – before the parent company took them all back again. But, not to despair, MDL also had the Mercedes franchise (and still does) and its ties to the Chinese automotive sector over the past two decades opened the door for the Irish outfit to access distribution rights to their products.
XPENG G6 (interior)
It already has BYD on its books here and in the last couple of months it also announced an association with Xpeng, or the Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology Co. Ltd., to give it its proper title, which was only founded eleven years ago and only as a mobility company, not necessarily simply an automotive maker.
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While it launched its first car, the G3 SUV, in 2018 (something not seen here), it is expanding rapidly and not just in the traditional sense of the auto industry. It has already built a flying car and has also been hugely involved in the development of autonomous cars – i.e. motors that drive themselves.
So, auto making is only one of the cards in its stacked hand, but its newest contender, the G6, already has the Tesla Model Y in its crosshairs – something which Elon Musk's outfit seems deeply uncomfortable with. So much so, it has already given the Y a facelift.
Having already got its ass whipped by BYD, Tesla is seemingly not at all happy with Xpeng's arrival, seeing as it represents yet another cold wind blowing in its direction from China.
But that's for another day, maybe. Today, we are focused on the G6 model and how it will fare against some of the EV big boys. Not bad at all is the simple answer.
It might be that the Chinese, down the years, got a deserved reputation for creating seriously accurate knock-offs – be it golf clubs, handbags, or whatever. That might have been diluted in recent times, but you know the deal: once you've got an established character trait, it's hard to shake it off no matter how incorrect it is.
Sadly for Xpeng, forever more will it be associated with aping Tesla's Model Y with the G6; no matter what it does in the future, it will be looked at through that prism.
And true, if you look closely at, say, the G6's infotainment system, a lot is going on here that seems familiar. Sure, there are differences in this 'no button' approach to everything apart from the electric window controls between the two manufacturers (even adjusting the door mirrors requires mastery of the central control screen), but the similarities are striking.
One of the screen's functions also illustrates to you the traffic around you at any given time, is also not new. Indeed, there are many, many things here that have been aped from elsewhere. Having said that, however, the blitzkrieg of tech in the G6 is smashing and nerdy types will be perfectly at home in this car.
Xpeng G6 appeal
One thing that has cropped up again and again with Chinese products is that, invariably, when it comes to on-road dynamics, they fall short of what is required by Western norms. Largely, they understeer like mad, cornering can sometimes be very tippy-toey, steering vague, and the ride is choppy.
The G6, however, has taken things up a notch, and it is a sign – if it was needed – that when the Chinese put their minds to something, it gets sorted pretty quickly. We have always said that they would get on top of the dynamics in short order, and with this car, we can see that our concerns are certainly being addressed.
There are two G6 models on offer to Irish punters – a standard range version and a long-range version. Both are rear wheel drive only, and one has a range of 435 km, while the other will cover 570 km. It was the former we tried and, unlike a majority of the Chinese products we've driven, it was a decent enough handler.
It was not outstanding or anything, just good at its job. There was nothing on display here which screamed 'brilliant.' Rather, it was simply perfectly acceptable. It cornered well and dealt with the Irish road network with commendable poise, but even at that, it was a notable improvement over most of its native contemporaries.
For a big car, the acceleration was brisk at 6.9 seconds for the 0-100 km/h dash, and top speed was better than most at 200 km/h. What impressed, though, was the 20-minute 0-80% charging time.
This was just as well, because I found that at motorway speeds the G6 ate into the range capability pretty quickly, although it was much, much better doing normal day-to-day things. A trip from Cork to Dublin will exhaust most of its energy, but faffing about around town will see a full charge last almost a week.
Whatever you do in it, you will do so in impressive comfort; there's a very airy and really well put together interior, and passengers will not want for head or leg room. The boot, too, is very commodious. This is a quality product, and very definitely so at the price.
A tad bland looking – the so-called 'robot' face is unextraordinary – the G6 is quite different when viewed from the interior, although that 'switchless' character does take getting used to.
A definite uptick then on what we have been seeing from the Chinese so far, with the promise of more to come in the future from a manufacturer with an eye definitely on the future. MDL rarely takes a false step, and they definitely have not done so here.
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